Tag: Yara Sharif

SA+C Tutors’ and Students’ Work Featured in Dezeen Magazine: “Architects for Gaza creates fragments of demountable clinic for Gaza”

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

As a part of the London Festival of Architecture, on June 25, 2024, Architects for Gaza, led by the Senior Tutors Yara Sharif and Nasser Golzari (MArch DS22 and MA Architecture), displayed sections of an experimental clinic in Marylebone Campus that it plans to build in Gaza as soon as soon as the conditions allow for access. The prototype was designed and built in collaboration with the Senior Tutors Paolo Cascone (BSc Architecture and Environmental Design) and François Girardin (Fabrication Lab and MArch DS23) and a number of students from the above courses.

The prototype was on display until the end of June and the exhibition was covered by the Dezeen Magazine:

“On show at the University of Westminster School of Architecture and Cities, the full-scale segments were designed to demonstrate how structures could be built to provide primary care in Gaza where 70 per cent of all health infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed since the most recent escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict in October.

Named Experimental Lab/Clinic, the project by Architects for Gaza was designed by curators Yara Sharif, Nasser Golzari, Francois Girardin and Paolo Cascone to be built using the scarce materials available in Gaza. The clinics would also act as a kind of “atlas of possibilities” to demonstrate construction techniques that people can use to rebuild their homes and neighbourhoods.”

Dezeen, 17.07.2024

You can access the full article here.

SA+C at London Festival of Architecture: “Gaza Experimental Lab” | Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 18:00 (BST) in Robin Evans Room, Marylebone Campus

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Tuesday, 25th of June 2024, 6pm (BST)

Where: Robin Evans Room (M416), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

Please join us on Tuesday, 25th of June at 6pm (BST) for the opening of the Gaza Experimental Lab. 

This 1:1 installation is a fragment of an off the grid experimental lab typology for the context of Gaza. It brings to the surface alternative materials and techniques built out of urgency and scarcity, challenging the consumer-driven construction industry, both in UK and the Global south by re-appropriating its discards. The room in its complete form can be used as a healthcare clinic, class room or Home.

The Lab, being ongoing process of testing and making, suggests alternative use of materials including crushed concrete, R-bars, corrugated sheets, sandbags, fired/unfired clay panels and other components. The outcome may suggest a new and unfamiliar aesthetic inspired by the local context and needs.

The exhibition is hosted by University of Westminster, School of Architecture, 25-30 June. Access need assistance available at the reception.

Key partners: University of Westminster (MA Architecture + BSc Architecture and Environmental Design, Fabrication Lab), Architects For Gaza and Mobile International Surgical Team.

This event is part of the London Festival of Architecture 2024 and it was supported by Quentin Hogg Trust (QHT).

Unsettled Subjects: “Cultivating Hope 1: Palestine Regeneration Team x Adam Khan” | Monday, March 25, 2024 at 18:00 in M416 (Robin Evans Room)

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Monday, 25th of March 2024 at 6pm

Where: M416, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

Cultivating Hope: Conversations on Palestinian art and architecture is a series of talks, gatherings and discussions — convened by Unsettled Subjects — aimed at developing an understanding of cultural production and reflection from Palestinian practitioners.

The first event in the series features architects and educators Yara Sharif and Nasser Golzari, founding members of Palestine Regeneration Team and more recently, Architects for Gaza, in conversation with Adam Khan, principal at Adam Khan Architects.

Join a community of artists, architects and thinkers committed to dismantling the systemic and structural legacies of imperialism, colonialism and slavery within and beyond the built environment; together, we cultivate hope.

Feel free to bring dates/ snacks/ water for Iftar which will be at 6.24pm

Book tickets here.

Architecture + Cities Research Seminar: Nasser Golzari, Yara Sharif, and François Girardin “A Foot on the Earth, a Hand in the Sky: Gaza Experimental Lab”, Monday, February 12, 2024 at 1pm (GMT) | Online

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Monday, 12th of February 2024 at 13:00 (GMT)

Where: Online

Yara Sharif, Nasser Golzari and François Girardin will present the next Architecture + Cities Research Seminar, titled A Foot on the Earth, a Hand in the Sky: Gaza Experimental Lab. It will take place at 13.00 on Monday 12 February online.

The link to the meeting is here

MArch DS22 tutors, Dr Yara Sharif and Dr Nasser Golzari, to screen their film alongside an interactive installation “Secrets of a Digital Garden” at the Berlinale Film Festival on Wednesday, February 19, 7pm at Betonhalle, Silent Green Kulturquartier, Berlin

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

MArch DS22 tutors, Dr Yara Sharif and Dr Nasser Golzari, have been invited to show their recent work Secrets of a Digital Garden at this year’s Berlinale Forum Expanded.

The work consists of a film and an interactive installation, previously exhibited at the Chicago Architecture Biennial 2019.

Secrets of a Digital Garden follows on the duo’s ongoing research by design, which aims to explore the hidden potentials of the Palestinians landscape, and the right to the rural. 
 
The work was produced in collaboration with Riwaq: Centre for Architectural Conservation, and is realised with the fantastic support of UNESCO, University of Westminster, Fabrication Lab, NG Architects, DOEN, Sweden/Sverige and PART.

The exhibition runs from February 19 to March 22.

Panel Discussion: “Dressing / Undressing the Landscape” with DS22 tutors Yara Sharif and Nasser Golzari, Rich Mix, Saturday, March 9, 14:00-16:00

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

How can communities outside the Middle East, including diaspora, engage in influencing the decolonization of public space and architecture?

Alongside the exhibition, a panel discussion on the Arab cities of Mosul, Baghdad, Riyadh, Ramallah, Beirut, Damascus and Gaza will take place to unpack their vanishing landscape and the way it is being ‘Dressed and Undressed’. Notions such as Home, re-production, re-construction and re-imagination of space will be interrogated by different researchers through film, drawings and mapping.

This event is FREE and open to all but registration is essential to attend.

To book please go to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dressingundressing-the-landscape-panel-discussion-tickets-57315042836

The event will be organised by PART and the panel discussion will be led by PhD students and researchers from the University of Westminster and University College London.

Curator Yara Sharif invites guests to explore the concept behind the exhibition, and its importance as an alternative lens into a world of responsive architectural design.

The discussion will address the social and environmental issues of colonisation, where foreign architecture and spatial design can demolish not only functional space, but with it, layers of history, culture, memory and identity.

Chair : Dr Nasser Golzari

Panelists: Dr Murray Fraser & Yara Sharif

Exhibitors:

  • Palestine Regeneration Team (PART)
  • Yara Sharif
  • Hemali Rathod
  • Julia Topley
  • Sakiya: Art, Science, Agriculture
  • Sahar Qawasmi
  • Rim Kalsoum
  • Hiba Al-Safi
  • Nuha Hansen
  • Angeliko Sakellariou
  • Dana Nasser
  • May Sayrafi
  • Samar Maqusi

AWAN, which is about to enter its 5th edition, showcases the work of contemporary Arab women artists in the UK, Europe and beyond, providing opportunities for artists and audiences to celebrate, be informed and network whilst exposing new audiences to the work of emerging and established artists.

AWAN is produced by Arts Canteen and supported by Rich Mix London

Exhibition Opening: “Dressing / Undressing the Landscape” curated by DS22 tutor Yara Sharif, Friday, March 1, 18:00-20:00, Rich Mix

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Friday, 1st of March 2019, 18:00 – 20:00 GMT

Where: Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA

 

Dressing/Undressing the Landscape explores means to rethink the current cultural landscape of the Middle East.

In a dialogue between architecture, art and spatial design, female architects and artists from the Arab world and beyond, bring forward new insights to the cities of Gaza, Mosul, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, Ramallah and the rural villages of Palestine.

The works provoke the current geography of the Middle East and the way it is being represented, exploited and imagined — especially with the on-going colonial project that continues to dress it with alien layers and new sceneries.

The contributors question through design, what might a landscape crafted by women be like? They offer alternatives that resist the legislated power of men, the power of war and the power of image, which have been constantly reinvented.

In the cities of Mosul, Damascus and Baghdad Dressing/Undressing the Landscape goes beyond the surface to cultivate hope; contributors share the beauties of everyday life and the hidden agencies that shape their cities.

In Palestine, Undressing the Landscape is a way to expose the hidden potentials of the ‘edges’ and what has become a leftover landscape. In Beirut however, the work reveals the naked reality of what appears to be a ‘magical’ setting; it narrates the underground life of Syrian Refugees.

Exhibitors:

  • Palestine Regeneration Team (PART) — Yara Sharif, Hemali Rathod, Julia Topley
  • Sakiya: Art, Science, Agriculture — Sahar Qawasmi
  • Rim Kalsoum
  • Hiba Al-Safi
  • Nuha Hansen
  • Angeliko Sakellariou
  • Dana Nasser
  • May Sayrafi
  • Samar Maqusi

This exhibition is curated by Yara Sharif from Palestine Regeneration Team (PART).

It will be accompanied by a panel discussion on Arab cities and the making, redefining and reclaiming of public space, on 9 March 2019 as part of Arab Women Artists Now Festival @ Rich Mix main space from 14.00 – 16.00pm.

AWAN, which is about to enter its 5th edition, showcases the work of contemporary Arab women artists in the UK, Europe and beyond, providing opportunities for artists and audiences to celebrate, be informed and network whilst exposing new audiences to the work of emerging and established artists. www.awan.org.uk

AWAN is produced by Arts Canteen and supported by Rich Mix London

This private view of the “Dressing/Undressing the Landscape” exhibition event is free and open to all but registration is essential to attend.

To book please go to: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dressingundressing-the-landscape-tickets-56815700289?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

 

Royal Academy: “Cities and Colonialism” – Yara Sharif (DS22 tutor) in conversation with Ana Naomi de Sousa, Aya Nassar and Léopold Lambert, Monday, December 3, 18:30-19:30

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Monday, 3rd of December 2018, 6.30 — 7.30pm

Where: The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly

How have the urban spaces of Lisbon, Cairo and Jerusalem been shaped by colonialism? Join our panel as we discuss the impact of colonialism on contemporary urban landscapes.

Architecture has been used politically, to shape identities, form behaviours and as a tool to channel power. However, architecture also has the potential to subvert politics and to reappropriate space.

In the second event in The Space of Colonialism series, we look at the political potential of architecture through the lens of colonialism and the city. With a focus on Lisbon, Cairo and Jerusalem, we will explore how post-colonial politics continue to transform the built environment and shape public space in these different geographical contexts.

Our panel will examine how a colonial state can demolish and construct parts of a city to assert control, organising cities into spaces in which citizens are permitted or excluded. Join us for a discussion on the city as a stage for anti-colonial struggles.

The Space of Colonialism series is guest curated by Léopold Lambert and The Funambulist, a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to the politics of space and bodies.

Speakers:

Ana Naomi de Sousa is a filmmaker and writer, whose work addresses history, spatial politics and identity. She has directed documentaries, including The Architecture of Violence; and Angola – Birth of a Movement, and was co-producer of the Rebel Architecture series for Al Jazeera English. She has collaborated with Forensic Architecture, most recently on the interactive documentary Saydnaya.

Aya Nassar is a PhD student at the University of Warwick, UK. She works on ordering urban space and the politics of space in Cairo. Her research looks particularly at ‘Fire’, ‘Mud’, ‘Cement’ and ‘Dust’ as key material/metaphoric elements of space that have acted on the city, to see how they can enrich our understanding of the politics of post-independence Middle East and the production of urban spaces through postcolonial statecraft.

Yara Sharif is an architect and holds a PhD from the University of Westminster. Her book Architecture of Resistance: Cultivating Moments of Possibility within the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict investigates the relationship between architecture, politics and power, and how these factors interplay in light of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

Léopold Lambert (chair) is a Paris-based architect and the editor-in-chief of The Funambulist.

For more information: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/event/the-space-of-colonialism-cities-and-colonialism

“Decolonizing minds and spirits through architecture and design” with DS22 tutor Yara Sharif, L’Institut du monde Arabe, Paris, 23rd June

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: Saturday 23rd June 2018, 19:00

Where: Auditorium de L’Institut du monde arabe, Paris, France

If in Paris on the 23rd of June, don’t miss DS22’s tutor Yara Sharif‘s presentation at “Décoloniser les esprits via le design et l’architecture” event at L’Institut du monde arabe , and as part of the Palest’In&Out Festival.

More info on the event (in French): https://www.imarabe.org/en/rencontres-debats/decoloniser-les-esprits-via-l-architecture-et-le-design

“Decolonizing minds and spirits through architecture and design” will be one of many fantastic events including film screenings, workshops and installations to take place during the festival.

Palest’In & Out 2018: Discover what Palestinian contemporary art has to offer, and reimagine Palestine from a new perspective.

The Festival programme (in French) : http://www.institut-icfp.org/category.php?id=9498y38040Y9498

Book Launch: ‘Architecture of Resistance: Cultivating Moments of Possibility Within the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict’ by Yara Sharif, 5th April, Robin Evans Room M416, 18:30-21:00

Posted on by Mirna Pedalo

When: 5th April 2018, 6.30pm – 9.00pm

Where: Robin Evans Room M416, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS

Join the author Yara Sharif and a number of outstanding speakers and panellists for the book launch of Architecture of Resistance: Cultivating Moments of Possibility within the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict published by Routledge.

Robert Mull, Sarah Beddington, and Tanzeem Razak will join the author with presentations on offering unconventional alternatives while dealing with contested space.

The author and speakers will be in discussion and open Q&A with panellists, Lindsay Bremner, Harry Charrington, Murray Fraser, Nasser Golzari, Kim Trogal, Nouha Hansen and Rim Kalsoum on themes raised in the book concerning spatial resilience, politics and place.

Speakers

  • 6.30 pm Harry Charrington Welcome
  • 6.45 pm Yara Sharif Introduction to the book
  • 7.00 pm Robert Mull On Offering Alternatives
  • 7.15 pm Tanzeem Razak Subverting the Black Narrative in Post-Apartheid Context’
  • 7.30 pm Sarah Beddington The Logic of the Birds

7.45 pm Panel discussion and open Q&A joined by

  • Lindsay Bremner
  • Harry Charrington
  • Murray Fraser
  • Nasser Golzari
  • Kim Trogal
  • Rim Kalsoum
  • Nouha Hansen

8.15 pm Drinks

Copies will be sold at discounted price.
The event is free and open to the public

About the Book

Architecture of Resistance investigates the relationship between architecture, politics and power, and how these factors interplay in light of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. It takes Palestine as the key ground of spatial exploration, looking at the spaces between people, boundary lines, documents and maps in a search for the meaning of architecture of resistance. Stemming from the need for an alternative discourse that can nourish the Palestinian spaces of imagination, the author reinterprets the land from a new perspective, by stripping it of the dominant power of lines to expose the hidden dynamic topography born out of everyday Palestine. It applies a hybrid approach of research through design and visual documentary, through text, illustrations, mapping techniques and collages, to capture the absent local narrative as an essential component of spatial investigation.

Endorsement

In this subtle, compassionate, and clear-eyed book, Yara Sharif offers architecture as both a tactic of physical resistance and a contesting form of knowledge and possibility – a critical mnemonic for a culture under erasure. Her profound mapping of Palestine beautifully harmonize space and life and, with courageous modesty, advance creativity and improvisation in defense of a beleaguered, precious normality. (Michael Sorkin)